Borghild Dragon Riders
by The Norse Nerd
Summary: After a series of events, Freyja finds herself on Berk, where she will learn to train her dragon.
1. Chapter 1

Einar had never wanted to be chief. When his father had decided to retire, he had to choose between his two sons. Einars older brother was the perfect choice. He was smart, strong, and charismatic. However his good qualities were outweighed by the bad. He was impatient and manipulative. So their father had chosen his stepson Einar instead. Outraged, his older brother had tried to kill him that night.

Einar shivered as he remembered the cold, icy look in his brothers' eyes, when he had been screaming at him. Einar had been pinned against the floor helpless against him, as a knife was held to his neck. _You're not even his son._ He had whispered viciously into his ear. Those words had always cut deep, ever since he was a little kid. Their father and sister had found them sprawled out on the floor and his brother was pried of him by multiple warriors. His brother had later been exiled and Einar hadn't seen him since then.

But all that had happened three years ago. Einar thought he was kind of good at this whole chief thing. On top of that he had married his girlfriend Ingrid. He smiled as he thought of their wedding day, the happiest day of his life so far. He looked over to their bed, where she was currently asleep. The moonlight shining through the window fell onto her face, gently lighting her face in the otherwise dark room. _She looks so peaceful._ Einar thought.

 _I definitely need to pack more food_. He looked into his near-empty bag. This wouldn't be enough to last him through the trip. He was going to a great gathering of chieftains. The trip would take at least three days by boat, according to his father. _He's probably been to a lot of these things._ He thought as he grabbed a few rolls of bread from their kitchen. After packing the rest of his supplies he walked back into their bedroom to take on last look at his sleeping wife. _I'll miss her greatly_. He thought as he left the house, they had never been apart for long. He shut the door behind him as quietly as he could, but he couldn't avoid the screeching of the doors hinges. _I'll have to fix that when I get back._

"Leaving without saying goodbye are we?"

Einar jumped and whipped around to find a very tired and angry looking Ingrid in the doorway.

"I-I didn't want to wake you," He stuttered. "I'm sorry I just thought you'd be angry if I woke you up."

"Well I'm angry _now_ ," She stepped closer to Einar and he prepared himself for a punch in the arm. "What woman wouldn't want to see her husband before he leaves for three days?" She said as she pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Your right, I'm sorry. I should have said goodbye to you two." He said as he smiled at the baby in Ingrid's arms, looking up at him with her wide green eyes. _His_ green eyes, their baby took after him in appearance. But the kid was stubborn like her mother. Ingrid had always been kind of angry about that.

Einar pressed a light kiss to the baby's forehead while she laughed and wriggled in her mother's arms. Einar looked up into his wife's eyes and leaned up to kiss her. He had always been short. _Geez, I hope our baby won't be short like me when she grows up_ he thought as he kissed Ingrid. As he pulled away he looked at her and saw the sadness written across her face. _This is going to be a rough three days_.

"Goodbye." She whispered.

"Bye, I'll see you soon." He said as he pulled her into a hug.

"Be careful." she whispered into his ear.

"It's just a meeting, what could go wrong." He said as he smiled at her, pulling away gently from her embrace.

She rolled her eyes at him. " _I know_ , but every time you say that something bad happens."

"Okay, don't worry I'll be fine."He walked down to the docks and waved goodbye. He saw her wave back, her figure shone bright, lit by the moon. He could feel the excitement run through his veins as he thought of meeting all the great chiefs of the tribes. _I have a good feeling about this…_

Ingrid watched Einar walk down the path that led to the docks. It wouldn't take long for him to get there the island of Alvland was pretty small. But the tribe knows to make the best of the small space. They're a tribe of inventors and dreamers. Ingrid wasn't born here, so she often felt as though she didn't fit in among the Vikings of this tribe. She was born on the mainland and knew next to nothing about these strange islands.

Her attention was drawn back to the child in her arms as she tried to knaw on the necklace she had given her. Ingrid gently pried the necklace from the baby's mouth. She glanced down at the necklace draped around the baby's neck. On one side it had the tribal crest, a small silver fireball with a green emerald in the center. Ingrid turned the necklace over in her hand. On back she had engraved the child's name, _Freyja_.

Freyja yawned and wriggled in Ingrid's arms, one of her little hands grabbed a few strands of her mother's hair and pulled. Ingrid let out a yelp causing Freyja to let go and smile up at her mother with big green eyes.

"Okay, time to go back to bed." Ingrid said as she hurried inside. She walked up the stairs into their shared bedroom and laid the baby back down in her cradle. She settled down in her own bed and sleep came to her.

"Are you sure this is the place?"

Bard looked into up the shadowy man's scarred face. He felt uncomfortable under the man's intense green gaze. He snapped his face away and looked at his surroundings, the familiar mountain ranges and forests of his old home were all around him. If only he could stop to enjoy this moment. It was the first time he had been home in three years. He wanted to take in the beautiful scenery of his homeland. But he couldn't he had come here on a mission, to take back his tribe. He was the rightful ruler of this tribe and he intended to be so by the end of the night.

"Yes this is the right island. The village will be well protected, so we will have to move swiftly and quietly." Bard explained to the man. He still felt uneasy at the thought of his former tribe-mates getting hurt or killed, but he had to do what was best for the tribe. They needed a strong leader who would bring peace. A soldier came running up to them.

"Drago, the dragons are ready to move!" He informed them.

"Good, we will begin our attack on the village shortly." Drago turned to Bard.

"Do you still want to proceed with the attack?" He asked.

 _NO! I want to go home to my family and friends! I never wanted any of this! I just want to see them again. I want things to go back to normal!_ Bard shoved those thoughts aside. He had to do this. No matter what, he couldn't let his tribe suffer under weak leadership. He looked behind him at the angry dragons in chains, all under their command.

"Y-yes, we can proceed." He said stuttered quietly, covering his face with his hood. Drago shouted at his commands at the nearest soldiers and the stared to march through the forest. By tomorrow he would be in control of his former tribe and the rule of his brother would come to an end.

Ingrid was tossing and turning in her sleep, her dreams engulfed in flames and blood. She could see the familiar faces of those she loved burning. Ingrid woke with a start, trembling and covered in sweat. She laid herself back down and tried to steady her heartbeat, after a few minutes she could still hear her heart beating in her ears. Confused Ingrid took deep breaths, but that was she realized it was not her heartbeat she could hear, but the roaring of dragons.


	2. Chapter 2

A bone chilling scream cut through the night. It made Ingrid jump in her skin. They were under attack! Ingrid's eyes stretched wide with fear. This island was supposed to be safe! They had sentries placed around the edges of the village; they should have sounded the alarm if anything was wrong. What if the sentries had been killed! A million thoughts were racing through her head. The tribe was totally vulnerable without their chief! Without Einar telling the other tribe members what to do it would be chaos! Of all nights for a dragons attack this was the worst!

Ingrid left the bed and went over to the window. What she saw was terrifying. Dragons of all shapes and sizes were chasing tribe members through the village. The people ran screaming in all directions trying to flee as the dragons hunted them like prey. The ground was bloody and the houses were burning with dragon fire. Ingrid's legs threatened to give out as she was consumed with fear. This was it, they were all going to die tonight.

She looked over to the cradle where Freyja was sleeping. There was no way she could let her precious child die, she had to save the both of them.

Ingrid grabbed her rucksack from the table by her bed, put a blanked inside, and gently laid Freyja down. The child stirred and opened her big green eyes in confusion.

"Don't worry, everything will be alright." Ingrid soothed, wrapping Freyja's tiny hands around her necklace. She slid the rucksack over her shoulders and stepped lightly down the stairs. Ingrid looked around the lower level of the house, trying to decide if there was anything else she needed.

A sword, she walked over to the weapons chest and chose the sharpest one. Light, but not too light, _This one should deal a good blow_ she thought with satisfaction. A shield too, would she even be able to carry one? No, those had always been too heavy for her. Once she had all she needed Ingrid decided on her plan. She would run as fast as she could, heading for the woods, taking down any dragons in her way. Ingrid said a quick prayer to the gods that this would work.

Ingrid stood in front of the heavy wooden door and inhaled deeply. With a shaking hand she took hold of the door handle and pulled it open. Ingrid shot out of the house towards the outline of forest that surrounded the town. None of the dragons seemed interested in chasing her, they were too busy feasting on her fallen tribe-mates. She turned her head and she spotted a few of the remaining villagers heading towards the docks, and for a moment she wondered if she should change her course and go with them.

But as she was distracted she lost her footing and tripped. She fell on her hands and knees, her sword flying out of her hands. She looked down and felt her blood run cold as she realized she had tripped over a dead body. She screamed in horror then immediately covered her mouth as a dragon looked up from its meal to stare at her. Ingrid slowly brought herself to her feet, her eyes never leaving the dragons. She backed away slowly and the dragon stepped towards her. Ingrid realized this dragon now saw her as prey, and was now in for the kill.

She turned around and fled towards the woods leaving her sword behind. The dragon fell in pursuit behind her growling viciously. Ingrid struggled to doge other dragons and fleeing villagers. Her feet pounded off the ground with every bound towards the woods. She couldn't let herself be caught!

The woods drew closer and Ingrid was filled with hope. _I'm almost safe!_ Then the dragon behind her put on a burst of speed and tackled her to the ground, her rucksack flew off her back and landed a few feet in front of her. _No! I was almost there!_

She looked up into the dragons face and was filled with pure terror. Its jaws dripped with saliva and blood. Its mouth twisted into a dreadful snarl. It sniffed up and down her body, probably looking for the best place to bite her first. She tried to call for help but no sound came. Its nose came up to sniff her face and Ingrid struck its nose. It howled in fury and rubbed its new wound. Ingrid scrambled across the ground and tried to reach her daughter.

The dragon reached back and forcefully placed a paw on her lower back, forbidding from taking another step. She struggled against the creature but she couldn't move. Ingrid felt the tears stream down her face. _This is it, I'm going to die tonight_. Ingrid covered her mouth, muffling her sobs. Sudden pain shot through her leg and she screamed in agony, _This dragon is going to eat me_ _alive!_ she thought with dread.

"Someone help me!" She screaming into the night, knowing that even if someone did, she could never walk again.

A young man went running past her. She recognized him as Spiderlegs, one of Einar's most trusted warriors.

"Help me!" She screeched again, he turned around and stared at her in horror. With one last glance at the docks he turned and ran to her. The dragon took no notice of him as her stopped in front of her, too consumed with his meal.

"Ingrid! Stay here I will get help!" He turned to run again but she grabbed his ankle to stop him.

"No," she said weakly, she pointed over to where her child lay in the rucksack."See that bag? I need you to take it far away from here, head for the woods…" Ingrid started to feel dizzy with pain as the dragon kept devouring her leg.

He looked over to rucksack and she saw the caution and fear on his face, but slowly he walked over and gently picked it up. He peered inside and his face shone with surprise. Spiderlegs kneeled down gently beside Ingrid and took her hand.

"I promise you, I will bring your daughter to safety, even if it kills me." He promised her.

Relief flooded through her, her child would live! As Spiderlegs took one last look at her he turned and ran towards the woods. Ingrid laid her head on the ground, a sudden tiredness taking over. As her vision faded she was filled with a calm peaceful feeling, her daughter would live to see the next sunrise, and that was all she wanted.


	3. Chapter 3

Bard walked through the burning village with Drago by his side. He looked at the broken lifeless bodies strewn carelessly across the barren ground. The air was heavy with the scent of blood and smoke. The smell was so strong it made him dizzy, and he struggled to keep walking in a straight line. Bard stared in silent horror at the faces he once knew, their expressions twisted with eternal agony. He could name nearly every one of his fallen tribe-mates.

 _Is this really what victory feels like?_ Bard thought, swallowing the lump rising in his throat. _No, I won't have victory until I'm sure Einar is dead._ But of all the bodies burning here in the moonlight, he couldn't make out the freckled face of his half-brother. Had he even been here?

Bard kept scanning the sea of corpses but he couldn't find his brother. Frustration welled up inside of him. He had to be here! He just had too!

"So did you get what you came for?" Drago's foul breath ghosted over his ear as he whispered to him.

"I-I don't know, maybe…" Bard trailed off looking at the ground with wide eyes.

"What do you mean _maybe_?This is what you wanted, remember?" Drago hissed at him.

"I have to check something." Bard tore himself away from the large mans side, running through the village. He came to a stop in the middle of the village. He stopped when a wooden house, slightly bigger that the rest of them, stood in front of him. _This used to be my home._

He opened the heavy wooden door and looked around. It was slightly different than he remembered, but it still felt familiar to Bard. The walls still retained the same shape as they did all those years ago when he was a child. Bard shook his head. _They exiled me, this isn't my home anymore._

Bard walked through the house, looking for any sign that his brother might have been here. He saw his brother's old shield propped against the door, however his favorite leather bag was missing, as well as his rucksack. As he was searching through the abandoned house he spotted a note on the round table in the center of the room. Bard read through the letter.

It was an invitation, to a great gathering being held a day from now. The gathering was for chieftains only. As he kept reading he grew more furious with each word written. Einar wasn't here, he was long gone by now! This whole attack had been a failure! Bard's blood went cold. _All those people died for nothing…_

"Well, what is it?" Drago whispered suddenly. He wondered how long he'd been staring at the note.

Bard shoved the letter into Drago's large hand, getting chills as his own hand brushed up against Drago's metal arm. He trembled with fury as he tried to calm himself. He didn't want Drago to think he was weak.

"So Einar wasn't here then." Drago mumbled in that all too calm voice. It sent Bard over the edge. With a scream Bard drew his sword from its hilt and banged it repetitively on the round table. He kept slashing at the piece of wood with his sword until his anger calmed from a raging fire to a slow burn.

"Come on we're leaving."

He turned and left out the front door. Bard followed slowly after him. He didn't want to pair up with this dangerous man, but it was the only way to make sure Einar met his end.

They walked over the charred earth. Bard lifted his head as he heard footsteps thudding behind them. He turned around to see a lone man running for the woods. A live villager! Bard's spirits were lifted. It made him happy to see that not everyone had died. Bard ran after him, ignoring Drago's protests.

The man saw him running after him and sped up, clearly not wanting to be caught. He was carrying a rucksack in his arms. Bard almost lost him as he entered the woods, the shadows making it hard to see. So he followed his ears.

At last they came to a clearing surrounded by cliff walls. As the moonlight shone upon the man's face Bard was able to recognize him. _Spiderlegs! I thought I'd never see him again_ Bard thought with joy. Bard called out to him.

"Spiderlegs! It's me Bard!" Bard said. But Spiderlegs face didn't reflect his joy. The look on his face was pure terror.

"W-what are you doing here? Talon _exiled_ you!" Spiderlegs stammered.

"But aren't you happy to see me?" Bard asked, confused. He was his old friend. Why was he so scared of him?

"You tried to murder your brother!" Spiderlegs bellowed, his legs trembling as he held on tighter to the rucksack in his arms.

 _Oh, right_ "Yes but I'm not going to hurt _you_." Bard stated stepping closer.

"Who's this Bard?" Bard whirled around to find Drago standing behind him. He was always sneaking up on him!

"He's just an old friend." Bard reported.

"Do you think he knows where Einar is?" Drago whispered, glancing at him. "I suggest you ask him."

"Right," Bard turned back to the trembling man. His arms where now empty, he must have gotten rid of the rucksack. "Spiderlegs, do you know where Einar went?"

"He's not here right now, why do you want to know?" Spiderlegs squeaked.

"If you know you'll tell me, please, as a friend Spiderlegs." Bard pleaded, walking up to him so they were face to face.

Spiderlegs took his time answering; he was probably asking himself if he should trust them. At last he spoke in a hushed voice. "He's heading for the Isle of Kalfa, there's a meeting being held there."

Bard felt his shoulders sag with relief at knowing where his brother was. "Thank you Spiderlegs." He thanked him.

"Kill him."

"What?!" Bard exclaimed with wide eyes. He stared with disbelief at Drago.

"You got what you wanted now kill him." Drago hissed.

Spiderlegs face was alive with panic, he tried to back away but there was nowhere to run. He was already backed up against the cliff.

"He's a _witness_ Bard. If he got back to the rest of his tribe he would tell them all about us. Then they would never accept you as their new chief. How do you think they would react to finding out you where behind this attack?" Drago tried to reason.

"What? You did this?" Spiderlegs screamed in disbelief.

Bard ignored him. "I can't kill him he's my friend Drago!"

"Fine, I'll do it."

In an instant Drago's hand was around Spiderlegs' throat, lifting him off the ground. He made horrible choking sounds as he struggled for breath. Their eyes met and Bard was frozen to the ground.

"How could you do this? We were your tribe!" Spiderlegs yelled between gasps.

"Shut up." Drago said, his hand growing tighter around his neck.

"Drago stop!" Bard lunged forward and tugged uselessly against his strong arm. Only to be thrown back against the ground

Drago shot out with his metal hand, catching Spiderlegs across his face, then clawed his stomach. Bard watched his sickening horror as the blood splashed on the ground. The blood of his friend. Bard felt sick. He crouched over and stared at the ground. Drago yanked his face up by his hair to look him in the eyes.

"Next time, I expect you to follow my orders. I don't work with cowards. Understand?" Drago hissed. Bard slowly nodded, trying to ignore the tears welling in his eyes.

Suddenly the wind was strong, tugging at their clothes and hair. Bard looked up and saw a dragon, not one of theirs, unarmored and free, flying down towards them. It dove into the bushes and flew off. As it left Bard could make out the shape of the rucksack against the moonlight.

"What do you think was in there?" Bard asked quietly.

Drago shrugged. "Who cares? Whatever it was, it's gone now."

Seven days later that same rucksack was found by Merrideth the Merciless, chief of the Vulgar Thug Tribe, and her husband Asvard Gormson, on the Isle of Borghild.


	4. Chapter 4

Freyja blinked open her eyes. Faint sunlight drifted through the window frame and illuminated the room. The sun peaked out from behind dark, stormy clouds, though it would most likely be covered up once again in a few moments.

Freyja groaned and turned back over in her bed. She covered her head with her pillow in an attempt to block out the sunlight. After realizing her lame attempt at more sleep was hopeless, Freyja sat up and stretched. She rubbed her still tired eyes and walked toward the edge of her bed, where her clothes lay in a wooden trunk.

"Is it m-morning already?"

Freyja looked up from the chest where she had grabbed her blue tunic. A flame colored mass of scales named Blade was stretching on her windowsill; smoke poured out of his nostrils and curled around his red horns like a grey snake.

"Yep, you almost slept past dawn though." Freyja mumbled as she pulled the blue tunic over her torso. It was too big for her and the neckline lay on the edge of her shoulders. She wrapped her light brown belt across her waist to keep it in place and attached her small knife.

"It is not d-dawn." Blade said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"What?" Freyja asked, looking up from wrapping her arms bracers around her forearms.

"It is past dawn. The clouds are just-" Blade started.

"Blade! Why didn't you wake me?" Freyja rushed over to the window and knelt down so she could look the small dragon in the eyes. Blade looked away from her face with a guilty expression, but then again dragons faces were hard to read, so she could never be sure.

"I overslept. I am sorry Freyja." Blade hung his head low and stared art his claws. "Are you going to kick me out?"

Freyja sighed. "Of course not, but Blade, you have to keep up your end of the deal. I let you live here if you help with, you know, stuff I can't normally do on my own." She stood back up and grabbed her fur boots from the side of the bed. "How long ago did the sun come up?"

"I think it was an hour ago." Blade said as he swiveled his head around to inspect his wings. Freyja's head shot upwards so fast she could feel the wind rush around her face as she spun around.

"An hour?" She exclaimed. "Dyri is gonna kill me!"

Freyja frantically pulled on her boots and ran out the door of her room. She rushed into the big open room lined with weapons and shields along the walls. A big fancy chair that resembled a throne stood at the end of the dining table. A fireplace sat in the middle of the room. As she ran past she stumbled on a pile of firewood next to the fire, and would have plunged into the flames head first if Blade hadn't tugged her back by her belt.

Freyja opened the big wooden door with a grunt and stepped outside. She nearly jumped out of her skin as thunder clapped in the murky gray sky. She looked around and saw the rain begin to fall.

Freyja headed down the well-worn trail through the village down the cliffs. The trail was rocky, wet and slippery, even more so in the rain. It was always raining on Borghild; in fact, she didn't think there had ever been even one week where it didn't rain. Freyja turned as she heard a loud slam and thudding footsteps behind her.

"Freyja! Hi, you late too?" A blonde haired girl with blue eyes came running up to her, her clothes already getting wet in the rain. She wore a brown dress with a green tunic. Her name was Stoni, one of the few other viking trainees who Freyja could hang out with without getting into a fight.

Freyja hoped she wouldn't slip in the mud as Stoni caught up with her.

"Yeah, what happened to you?" Freyja rubbed her wet arms, trying to warm herself as she watched Stoni meddle with big war hammer attached to a thick brown belt. It was pretty nice, given to Stoni by her mom, Bufflegs. Part of Freyja wished that her stepmother, Merrideth, would do nice things like that for her.

"I overslept, I was up all night reading the Dragon Guide." Stoni looked down at Freyja, her wet blonde hair sticking to her forehead. She was tall for her age; in fact, she was the tallest girl in the training program. It made Freyja feel even shorter than she already was when they hung out together. Stoni glanced down at Freyja's belt and her eyes widened. "What happened to your sword? I thought you just got it fixed."

Freyja looked down at her boots. "I, um, kinda broke it."

"Again? What happened?"

Freyja sighed. "Blade happened."

"Oh," Stoni seemed to understand. She was one of the few close friends Freyja had told about Blade, the ones she knew she could trust with that secret. Merrideth would lose her mind if she found out there was a dragon living in the village. "We should hurry up, the Training Arena is still a little way off."

Stoni walked alongside her as they started back down the trail.

"Do you think Dyri will be hard on us?" Stoni spoke softly. She hardly ever raised her voice, she was gentle, sweet, and kind, and for that she was often teased by the others in the training program.

"He doesn't hate us like the others do, besides, Alpha is his son, he can probably put in a good word for us." Freyja answered.

"I sure hope so." Stoni said nothing else the whole trip there.

The Training Arena was really just a big dirt clearing at the bottom of a cliff surrounded by boulders. A chain net covered the top of the clearing, dragon stalls were carved into the cliff for the young vikings to train with, the only entrance was a old wooden door with rusted hinges and a chained lock wedged between two of the biggest boulders. The walk there was too long and Freyja hated it. The whole village was placed on the top of a rocky cliff right above the ocean and the Training Arena happened to be on the complete other side of the cliff. Right above it was another cliff, where the Armory, the Storehouse, and the Blacksmith workshop were.

Freyja fumbled with the door for a moment before finally getting it to open. All the other viking teens on the island were already in the clearing doing Thor knows what. A big boy with brown hair named Wolfgut was fooling around with one of the Steinthor twins, who was helping him shove an eel down the back of his twin brother's shirt. Two girls were having an arm wrestling match and another short haired redheaded girl named Tyrah was checking her reflection in a small hand held mirror. Freyja steered herself along the stone wall over to where two boys were sitting on a crooked wooden bench.

One had dark red hair and was glaring daggers at the other kids in the arena, he had pretty golden eyes and his sharp nose was dotted with a few freckles, which was nothing compared to how many Freyja had. The other had bright blonde hair and green eyes. He was smaller than the red haired one and a good inch or two shorter.

"Hi Alpha," Stoni sat down heavily between the two boys and smiled at each in turn. "Good morning Blitzen." The red haired one named Alpha turned and gave her a small smile that faded quickly back into his famous 'I-hate-the-world' frown. The blonde boy Blitzen, smiled and waved at them. His smile faltered.

"You guys are late you know." Blitzen said

"Yeah we noticed," Freyja grumbled as she slumped down next to Alpha. "Blade woke me up late."

"And I was up late reading." Stoni added.

"You need to stop doing that," Alpha said to Stoni. "Staying up late _can't_ be good for you."

Blitzen laughed and nudged his brother with his shoulder. "You sound like mom when you talk like that!"

Freyja held back a laugh as Alpha shoved his brother off the bench and huffed.

"Hey Alpha, is your father working the forge today?" Freyja asked.

"Yeah, why?" Alpha asked.

"She broke her sword again." Stoni informed him. Alpha gaped at her in surprise.

"You just got it fixed last month! How did you manage to-" Alpha was cut off as a girl strode up to them.

Sigrid Gormson, Freyja's adoptive sister, sneered down at them. Her long blonde hair was messy and tied back. Her blue eyes glittered coldly. She rested her hand on her hip and spoke.

"How're things over here in the little rejects corner?" Sigrid asked, faking interest. She looked at each of Freyja's friends in disgust. Stoni stared at the dusty ground and slumped down farther on the bench, while Blitzen just stared at Sigrid with resentment in his green eyes. Alpha's breathing became labored, and Freyja could tell he was just barely holding himself back from beating the living daylights out of Sigrid, which probably wasn't easy for him. Sigrid locked eyes with Freyja and smirked.

"Look who finally woke up, how'd you sleep Freyja?" She jeered, chin held high like she was royalty, which she was of course. Sigrid was the heir to the Tribe of Vulgar Thugs on Borghild. Freyja felt familiar loathing course through her as she looked up into her eyes.

Freyja stood and jabbed a finger at Sigrid's chest. " _You_ woke up on time! Why didn't you wake me?"

She smiled in response. "It's much more fun to watch you get in trouble with Dyri."

Freyja surged forward and grabbed Sigrid by her fur jacket, pulling her down so they were eye-to-eye. A couple of other young vikings turned and watched, expecting a fight. Freyja intended to give them one too. Her and Sigrid had been playing this little game of theirs their whole lives and Freyja was getting sick of it.

Just as Freyja was about to speak someone pried her hands off Sigrid and pulled her around. She looked up and was met with a pair of ice colored eyes. The buff girl looked down at her with a blank face, her blonde hair falling in her face.

"Stop fighting guys." She said with a monotone voice. Freyja did as she was told and stepped back from Sigrid. The girl, Shadyfist, was the best fighter in the training program, and Freyja didn't fancy getting beaten to a pulp.

"Come on Sigrid, Tyrah wants you to show her that new move with your dagger." Shadyfist said. Sigrid continued to glare at Freyja with untamed rage.

"You're lucky I don't gut you like a boar Freyja." Sigrid hissed and dramatically turned away, and the other teenagers groaned and booed at the loss of a fight when she walked off to the other side of the training ground where Tyrah waved and smiled at her. Shadyfist walked with her, and glanced momentarily at Freyja with what she could have sworn was sympathy.

Freyja took some deep breaths to calm herself down and then turned to face her friends once more.

Blitzen, still seated on the ground from when Alpha pushed him, shook his head and sighed.

"I dread the day that girl becomes our leader." Blitzen said. Freyja nodded in agreement.

All of their attention was diverted to the door when their trainer Dyri, entered. He was average height, with black hair and the same color eyes as his son, Alpha. He had a nasty scar across the bridge of his nose. No one knew how he had gotten and they were all too afraid to ask.

"All right kids, today is going to be a little different."


	5. Chapter 5

Everyone gathered around Dyri as he gave out the day's orders.

"Alright, so today instead of the normal dragon training, we're going out into the wild to catch and kill your own dragon." Dyri said.

Freyja shifted her eyes towards the ground. She didn't want to kill a dragon. The very thought made her feel nauseous. Freyja lifted her head as Stoni elbowed her gently with concern in her blue eyes. Freyja tried for a reassuring smile.

"You'll each head into the woods in pairs, you'll work together to hunt for a dragon. Bring back proof that you killed one, like a claw, or its tail. To keep things fair I've paired up the best trainees with those who could use some improvement." Dyri explained. He pulled out a piece of paper and began to read off the names.

"Shadyfist you'll be hunting with Stoni." Dyri said. Stoni flinched beside her and Freyja could see how nervous Stoni. She was fiddling with the hammer at her belt with shaking hands. She couldn't blame her, Shadyfist could be creepy at times.

"Maybe we'll get paired up together." Blitzen whispered with a hopeful smile on his face. Freyja nodded, she hoped she would get paired with someone she got along with.

"Wolfgut and Hogspit will work together," The two boys whooped and high-fived each other. "Rockhead you'll work with Blitzen." Rockhead, a tall boy with sandy colored hair, turned timidly to look at his partner who smiled back at him. Blitzen was lucky, Freyja thought, Rockhead was nice, and he was a good shot with a crossbow.

"Alpha you'll be with Tyrah." Dyri said. Alpha groaned and looked at Tyrah who waved at him with a bright smile. Dread settled in Freyja's stomach. There was only one person left for her to work with, oh gods no…

"Sigrid will be paired with Freyja. You all have five minutes to get ready then we'll head out." Dyri announced. As the crowd dispersed Freyja walked up to him and tapped his shoulder.

"Um, Dyri, sir. I don't think it's a good idea for me and Sigrid to be together," Freyja glanced back at Sigrid who was talking with Shadyfist, and scowled when she saw Freyja looking at her. "Could you maybe give me a different partner? We don't exactly get along well."

"Well, _try_. I can't go around switching everyone's partners." Dyri said. Freyja groaned and mentally prepared herself for the day ahead.

"You'll have as much time as you need in the woods, don't lose your partner, stay together." Dyri said. In front of them, the woods stretched out, dark and dense. "And don't die."

"Hope you can keep up with those little legs of yours." Sigrid said. Freyja scowled up at her.

"I don't like this anymore than you do, so let's just get this over with." Freyja said, fixing the crooked dagger on her belt. It was the only weapon she had at the moment and she hoped she wouldn't have to use it.

"Just don't get in my way. I'm not failing this assignment because of you, _runt_."

Freyja tried not to look hurt as she pretended to adjust her belt. She hated that insult more than anything. It wasn't her fault she was smaller than everyone else. But it had been that way for as long as she could remember, she'd always been the smallest viking.

"Good luck." Alpha smiled at her. Freyja smiled back.

"Thanks." Sigrid said, regally lifting her chin at him. Alpha frowned and turned his head away.

"I was talking to _Freyja_." Alpha glared at Sigrid with his intense amber eyes. Sigrid made an outraged choking sound and whipped her head away, her face growing red.

"On my mark you'll all take off into the woods." Dyri announced. He raised a horn to his lips, and waited for a moment, then blew.

The others took off towards the woods, and Freyja said a quick prayer to the gods that she wouldn't have to kill a dragon.

Freyja stepped over a tree root, careful to not trip and fall on her knife. That would be a stupid way to die.

Sigrid pushed on through the woods, Freyja trailing behind. The woods were dark even though it was daytime and thankfully the rain had stopped. But the ground was still muddy and slippery, so she had to be careful where she stepped.

"So what do we do when we see a dragon?" Freyja asked. They'd been looking for most of the day and time was running out. Through a gap in the trees she could see the sun was going to be setting soon.

"Just leave that to me." Sigrid said. She cut down stray branches that got in her way, leaving gaping holes in bushes and trees.

"Yeah, alright. Whatever." Freyja mumbled. She picked up a rock and chucked it into the woods over Sigrid's head.

"What the- what are you doing? You'll scare everything away!" Sigrid whipped her head around. Freyja leaned down to pick up another.

"That's kind of the point."

"Listen, I don't care about your mushy dragon philosophies," Sigrid stormed over, grabbed her wrist and squeezed roughly, causing her to drop the stone. "I'm going to kill a dragon today, whether you like it or not."

"How can you just be so casual about it?" Freyja yelled, yanking her hand out of her grasp. "They're intelligent creatures!"

Sigrid rolled her eyes. "Next you'll be saying it's wrong to kill deer, or fish."

"Sigrid, why do we kill them? They haven't done anything to us! Their attacks have decreased in the last-" Freyja was cut off as Sigrid forcefully put a hand over her mouth.

"Shut up," Sigrid whispered. Sigrid looked around with wide eyes, her other hand slowly reaching back towards where her axe was strapped to her back. Freyja slapped her hand away.

"You can't just cut me off like that! Just because you don't agree with me doesn't give you the right to-oof!" The breath was knocked out of her as Sigrid shoved her to the ground. The wind picked up and a screech came from above them, and Freyja looked up to see a big grey dragon with glowing blue stripes and yellow eyes, a Cavehunter dragon, swoop down towards them. Freyja felt frozen with fear, sure she respected dragons and all, but that didn't mean she wasn't scared of them. Everyone was afraid of dragons.

Sigrid roared ferociously and swung her axe. Freyja screamed for her to stop but it was too late, the axe met the dragon right in the chest and it fell to the forest floor with a thump and a pain filled shriek that hurt Freyja's ears. The dragon writhed in pain on the ground and tried to get up, only to fall back down again.

"Yes, finally!" Sigrid cheered. Freyja watched with disgust as Sigrid walked over to the dragon, wiping away blood that had gotten on her face with a proud expression. Sigrid wrenched her axe from the fresh wound and the dragon didn't move but made a small noise of pain. Sigrid raised the axe and Freyja stood.

"Stop! Don't hurt it."

"What's wrong with you? Dragons are dangerous, they _kill_ things Freyja. They won't stop unless we kill them first!" Sigrid dropped her axe and stood in front of Freyja. "Do you have any idea how many people in our tribe have died because of them?"

"Sigrid, I don't like it. I think killing dragons is _wrong_. Why can't you just respect my opinion?" Freyja knelt next to the dragon and gently extended her hand towards it, just like she'd done with Blade hundreds of times before. But before the dragon could decide whether or not it wanted her help, Sigrid moved her out of the way gently with her foot.

"Freyja, vikings kill dragons. That's the way it's always been. If you don't like it, well, maybe you're not meant to be a viking." Sigrid said. Freyja looked up at her with shock as Sigrid bent down to pick up her axe from where she had placed it on the grass.

Not a viking? Freyja didn't know where she came from. She'd never known her parents. For all she knew she could have come from the other side of the world. But she'd been raised in this tribe. She was just as much of a viking as anyone who had been born here.

"I _am_ a viking!" Freyja couldn't control herself as her fist met with Sigrid's face, sending her reeling backwards. Sigrid fell on her butt and stared at the forest floor in shock. Her eyes flashed with anger.

She leaped back to her feet and swung with her foot, sweeping Freyja off her feet. Sigrid kicked her in her side and she cried out in pain. Freyja grabbed the foot that had kicked her and yanked Sigrid to the ground, rolling them over so she came out on top. She felt a strange sense of pride at being able to pin her down. But it was short lived when Sigrid's fist hit her cheek and sent her tumbling off the other girl.

"Sigrid, what are you doing?"A squeaky voice said. Freyja turned to see Tyrah and Alpha emerging from the bushes, both with looks of shock on their faces. Alpha held what looked like a bloody Deadly Nadder horn in his hand.

"She started it!" Sigrid said.

Alpha walked over to Freyja and helped her up. His face was dirty from the hunt and he had twigs in his red hair. "We heard yelling and came as fast as we could, what happened?"

Freyja looked down at her feet in embarrassment. "Nothing." Alpha touched her face, where Freyja assumed a bruise was now forming.

"That looks bad, are you sure it was 'nothing'?" He asked, concern written all over his face. It was nice of him to care, but she didn't want to involve him in this. He would stop at nothing to protect his friends and she didn't want Sigrid to hurt him either. Then Freyja remembered the dragon. Was it still alive?

"Alpha, do you have any bandages or something? I-I don't want this dragon to die and- " Freyja knelt and felt for the dragons pulse. There was nothing. She stared at the dragon's lifeless face and felt guilty. If she hadn't been so busy fighting Sigrid, she might have been able to save it. Alpha kneeled down next to her.

"Is it dead?" He whispered. Freyja nodded.

"I'm sorry." He said. Freyja turned to look at him. He looked like he actually felt sorry. He stood. "Well there's nothing we can do for it now, we should take a claw or something back to Dyri. It would be a shame if it died for nothing."

"Yeah." Freyja said her voice hoarse.

On the walk back, Freyja stayed away from Sigrid and walked close with Alpha. When they got back to where Dyri was waiting, they found the sun was just maybe an hour or two from setting and they were one of the last groups back. After them came Wolfgut and Hogspit, each holding a horn of a Monstrous Nightmare.

"It was so easy! The hard part was tracking it though, luckily they leave a trail of fire behind them." Hogspit beamed, holding the bloody horn high. It made Freyja feel even worse looking at it.

"Hogspit distracted it while I took it down." Wolfgut boasted, flexing his arms and looking at Tyrah who smiled and clapped for him.

Dyri came around and collected what everyone had brought back.

"Good job everyone, training is over for today. Dinner will be served in the Meeting Hall tonight. Or you can just go home if you want." Dyri said. The other kids said their goodbyes and they all started the trip back to the village.


	6. Chapter 6

Freyja walked back with her friends, listening to their gruesome stories of how they killed their dragons.

"The Nadder almost got her too, I swear she wouldn't have noticed if it did though." Alpha laughed.

Blitzen frowned. "I wish you wouldn't talk about her like that."

Alpha looked at him quizzically. "Like what?"

"Like she's stupid or something! Tyrah's not stupid, she's just, um…" Blitzen blushed and looked away.

"It's not my fault she's as bright as a cloudy night." Alpha said. "Besides, the only reason you defend her at all is because you _like_ her."

"Even if I didn't," Blitzen said. "You shouldn't go around calling people names."

"Yeah," Stoni said. "If we did that we'd be as bad as Sigrid."

"Speaking of Sigrid, what happened with you two today?" Alpha looked over at Freyja. Freyja stepped over a rock as they climbed up the hill back to the village.

"We just had a little disagreement, that's all." Freyja sighed. They passed a small stream near the cliff face, where the Training Arena lay below the village. Freyja could hear the sounds of shouting coming from the arena.

"What's going on in there?" Freyja tried to catch a glimpse of what was going on inside.

"I don't know, wanna check?" Blitzen asked. Freyja nodded. She was glad to have a friend that thought so much like her sometimes. They both ran over to the Arena and searched for a boulder low enough to look over.

Inside, multiple soldiers swarmed around something Freyja couldn't see. They barked orders and threw ropes to each other. As they moved, Freyja caught glimpses of blue scales.

"What are they doing?" Freyja mumbled.

Alpha leaned down next to her. "Merrideth led a dragon hunt today, my guess is they brought back whatever they caught." That would explain why Merrideth had been gone when Freyja had left, normally she stayed at home in the mornings, and got her work done later.

"Maybe that's why Dyri held training _away_ from the arena today." Stoni mused. "But I thought the point of dragon hunting was to kill dragons, why would they bring one back alive?"

The four vikings in the Training Arena backed up as they finished their job. Lying there in the arena was a blue dragon, with yellow wings and dark blue stripes. Its wings were tied to its back, its legs bound, and its mouth roped shut. It struggled against its bindings and lashed its tail back and forth. One soldier was knocked down by its tail.

"Stupid dragon!" The viking cursed and got to his feet. He brushed of his tunic and tried to look dignified despite the fact he had just been knocked off his feet. "I can't wait for Merrideth to kill that thing."

"I'd kill it myself right now if she gave the command." Snorted a viking woman. It was Stoni's mother, Bufflegs. She put her hand on the man's shoulder. "Maybe if you ask nicely Matthias, Hammerfist will let you kill one of the others instead."

"No one is killing anything. Merrideth wants to save them for the fights for the Thor'sday Thursday celebration." Hammerfist said. He was a big man with a wild beard; he was also Merrideth's right hand man. "Wildeyes, are the ropes tight enough?"

A small red haired woman with big blue eyes turned and gave him a thumbs up.

"Then let's get out of here," Matthias said. "I don't even want to _look_ at that thing."

Bufflegs laughed. "You're just mad because it caught you off guard during the hunt!"

As they left the arena, the dragon slowly stopped struggling. It was beautiful. Its blue scales caught the light and shone bright. Freyja couldn't stop looking at it.

"I totally forgot about the celebration!" Blitzen face palmed himself then turned to his brother. "Dad gave us till then to fix the fence right?"

"And the fishing nets too." Alpha grumbled. "We should probably get started on it right now."

"But, what about dinner?" Blitzen frowned.

"I was going to go up to the Great Hall for dinner, you could join me." Stoni offered.

"I guess we could get some food before we get to work," Alpha said. "What about you Freyja?"

Freyja reluctantly took her eyes away from the dragon. "What?"

"You coming to the Great Hall or not?" Blitzen asked, tilting his head in a way that reminded her of a dog. Freyja turned her gaze back on the dragon lying in the arena.

"I…I'll catch up to you guys. Go ahead."

"Alright, we'll see you up there!" Stoni smiled. Freyja watched her friends leave. Once they were out of sight she ran over to the arena door and walked inside. She looked at the dragon, lying helpless and bound on the stone floor.

As she inched closer the dragon stirred. It opened its blue eyes and Freyja was left breathless. Its eyes glittered blue like the sea. It was beautiful, but also gave her that horrible feeling that she would drown in them. She always got that feeling around water, ever since…

Freyja shook her head and tried to get rid of those thoughts. She kneeled down next to the dragon and gently touched its shoulder.

The dragon's pupils became small slits and it growled through the ropes so loud it made her flinch. She retracted her hand quickly.

"Shh. It's okay; I'm going to help you, alright?" Freyja soothed the dragon as she placed her hand on the dragon again. It jumped slightly under her touch but made no sound.

She felt horrible about the dragon that had been killed by Sigrid today. Freyja couldn't help but feel that it was her fault, that if only she had done something to stop it, the dragon would still be alive.

Here was another chance to save a dragon.

Freyja took a deep breath and unsheathed her knife. She began to cut the ropes.

Freyja walked though the big wooden doors and into the Great Hall.

The air smelled of roasting meat and smoke. Vikings sat at tables and ate with each other. They laughed and yelled. It hurt her ears.

She spotted her friends sitting at a small table near the back of the hall. The table was located near where Sigrid and the other viking teens sat. Freyja's friends sat with their backs turned to them.

Freyja sat down and grabbed some bread and a piece of meat from a tray. She couldn't tell what animal the meat had once been but she was too hungry to care.

"I think I'm getting really good though," Blitzen gushed. "Dyri even suggested I start training with Wildeyes. She can hit bird with an arrow from a hundred yards away!"

"I'm proud of you." Stoni smiled. She saw Freyja and jumped a little in her seat. "Oh! Hi Freyja! I didn't hear you come in, sorry!"

Freyja mumbled that it was fine through a mouthful of her dinner. Alpha cleared his throat.

"So what were you doing back at the arena?" He raised an eyebrow at her. Freyja didn't meet his eyes.

"Stuff," She lied. "I left something back in the Training Arena this morning. But I got it back so…"

They all looked at the other table as a rowdy laugh went up. Freyja saw Rockhead get up with a blushing face and walk away. He walked over to Freyja's table and sat down next to her.

"Um, you okay dude?" Blitzen asked. Rockhead sighed and shook his head.

"Yeah, I just…sometimes they can all get kind of annoying." Rockhead said quietly. His gentle personality was not one you'd expect from someone who hung out with such rude people.

"Oh Freyja," Alpha said. He crossed his arms and leaned over the table a little. "About your broken sword, I asked my father about it and he says he can't fix it this week. So maybe you can choose a new one? I have plenty at home, if you want to… come over some time maybe?"

"Oh, yeah sure. Would tomorrow after training work?" Freyja asked. Alpha beamed and brushed some hair from his face.

"Yeah that would be great!" He said.

The doors to the Great Hall burst open, and their chieftain Merrideth the Merciless walked in. She was a big woman with braided red hair and armor made from dragon scales. She stomped into the building, Hammerfist behind her. Freyja quickly averted her eyes as she came over.

" _You_ ," She growled. She turned Freyja to look her in the eye. "You set the Sea Storm dragon free, didn't you?"

Stoni gasped. Alpha's eyes widened. "You did _what_?"

Freyja looked up defiantly at Merrideth. "So what if I did? All you were going to do was kill it!"

Merrideth crossed her arms pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Freyja," She hissed. "You _cannot_ keep doing this. First it was the Deadly Nadder last year, and three months ago it was the Swamp Dragon. Now _this_."

Sigrid got up from her table and mimicked her mother by crossing her arms as well. "You are in so much trouble." She smiled.

Merrideth jabbed a finger accusingly at her daughter. "Don't think you're off the hook either young lady. I heard about your fistfight in the woods. You're _both_ in trouble."

"What!" Sigrid and Freyja cried in unison.

"You two are going to be on watchtower duty, all night."

"But we have training tomorrow!" Freyja complained.

"Why are you punishing me? I had nothing to do with that dragon and-" Sigrid was silenced with a glare from her mother.

"Not now Sigrid." Merrideth ordered. Sigrid clenched her fists and opened her mouth to speak again. " _I said not now_." Merrideth said.

"Get back to the house and get supplies. We can talk when we get there." Merrideth ordered. She turned and began to exit the hall. Her blue eyes glared back at them with no light in them. Freyja shivered.

"Yes Merrideth." Sigrid said in a small voice. She shouldered past Freyja and left behind the chief. Freyja looked back helplessly at her friends and left as well.

Freyja slammed the door to her bedroom. Blade, who was curled up at the foot of her bed, squawked and fell off the bed. He looked up at her with big blue eyes that reminded her of the Sea Storm Dragon from earlier.

"You are back," He exclaimed in his chilly reptilian voice. Freyja smiled and scratched him behind the ears. "Training went well, yes?"

"Not really." Freyja sighed, she rummaged through the trunk at the foot of her bed and pulled out a spyglass she had gotten from Trader Johan and a small blanket. "I got in trouble again."

"Hmm," Blade padded up next to where she kneeled on the floor. "You are being punished."

Freyja nodded. "I have to be on watch duty tonight with Sigrid." Blade made a gasping sound and hopped up and down.

"May I come? I have good eyesight, I can help you!" He begged. Freyja considered it. It would be nice to have help, and one of a Flamehuffer's best traits was how well it could see in the dark.

"Alright, but you have to hide in my bag, and you have to be _completely quiet_." Freyja ordered. Blade nodded enthusiastically. He made a face and turned to look at the door.

"They are fighting." Blade stated. What was he talking about?

"Who's fighting?" Freyja asked. She didn't hear anything.

"The big woman and Sigrid." Blade informed. Freyja got up and walked over to the door. Blade was right; she could hear loud voices on the other side of it. Freyja opened the door a crack so she could hear them better.

"I just don't get why you have to punish _me_! I'm your daughter, can't you just, I don't know, make some kind of exception?" Sigrid said.

Merrideth turned and spoke. "Sigrid, I'm the chief. I can't show weakness or favoritism, as the heir you should know that."

"I do but-"

"You sure don't act like it! As the heir you're supposed to be an example of the perfect viking Sigrid. And from what I'm seeing you're far from perfect." Merrideth growled.

"I'm trying Mom, I really am! I rank third in dragon training! I'm one of the best fighters in the training program! What more do you want from me?" Sigrid looked at Merrideth with big blue eyes.

"Sigrid, there's more to being the heir than being a good fighter. You have to be responsible. If your brother Mirrak was still-"

Sigrid inhaled sharply. "Don't bring him into this."

 _Mirrak._

Freyja was hit with a wave of emotions. Mirrak was the only person she had ever really considered family. They'd had a deep bond since before she could remember. But he had gone missing three years ago on a fishing trip. She missed him so much, he had been the glue that had kept this family together. Ever since then, this family had slowly been drifting apart.

"Sigrid I…I have a tribe meeting tonight. I don't have time for this, just get up to the watchtower." Merrideth huffed and stormed out the door, leaving a teary eyed Sigrid alone. Sigrid took a shaky breath and wiped her eyes on her palms.

"I should probably finish getting ready…" Freyja said.

The climb up to the watchtower was quiet. Her bag was heavy with Blade in it, but he was doing a good job of keeping silent.

"Do you really need all that junk? It's just watchtower duty Freyja, it's not like you're going camping." Sigrid complained. They walked up the steps to the watchtower. Freyja tried to cut her some slack after her fight with Merrideth. She seemed pretty shaken up after it.

"I brought a blanket with me, we can share it If you want?" Freyja offered. Sigrid scoffed and rolled her eyes. Okay, maybe Freyja was wrong, she didn't seem _that_ shaken up.

They reached the top of the watchtower. It was a small stone tower with a shaky wooden roof. Some parts of the roof were missing, and it didn't have any walls, so you could see the whole island from up here. The night sky was dark and cloudy, the near full moon partially hidden. A gentle breeze blew through the open space of the platform. There were a few stone benches along the low walls, Sigrid and Freyja sat down at opposite sides.

"I can't believe I'm stuck up here all night." Sigrid grumbled. Freyja rolled her eyes and unpacked her bag, careful to leave Blade inside. Apparently he had fallen asleep during the walk up.

Sigrid took off her fur jacket and placed it over her face. She flopped down on the stone bench and Freyja guessed she was trying to sleep. Freyja grabbed her spyglass and began to keep watch.

A few hours later, Freyja was still keeping watch. Sigrid groaned and threw her arm over her eyes.

"You know Sigrid, maybe you can, I don't know, help me?" Freyja suggested. Sigrid sat up and yawned.

"Nothing ever happens around here anyways. Why should I look for a threat that isn't there?" Sigrid said. Freyja looked through the glass again at some of the small islands surrounding them.

Then, on one of the small island to the south Freyja spotted the dark silhouette of a boat.

"Um Sigrid, I think I see something." Freyja said. "Were any fishing trips scheduled for tonight?"

Sigrid gave her a weird look. "No."

"Well I see a boat out there."

"What? No way, it's probably just a rock." Sigrid lay back down on the bench. She was so careless.

A small bright dot lit up near the shore of the island. Freyja gasped.

"Sigrid, there's a fire! They might be an enemy tribe! Shouldn't we tell someone?" Freyja considered waking up Merrideth and telling her.

"If you think it's so bad why don't you go check it out?" Sigrid suggested sarcastically.

That was actually a good idea. There were some small boats at the docks big enough for one or two vikings, she could go and check out the island and be back before dawn.

Freyja packed up her bag and ignored the muffled snoring of Blade. "I think I will," She turned to leave. "I'll see you in a few hours."

Sigrid waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah, whatever."

Freyja started down the stairs. Blade poked his head out of her bag.

"Where are we going?" He asked in a hushed voice.

"I just have to check something out real quick, you can go back to sleep."

Blade slipped his head back into the bag and Freyja walked quickly down to the docks. She found a small boat and began to untie it when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see Alpha standing behind her with his arms crossed and his eyebrows knit in concern.

"Hi." She smiled. Alpha frowned.

"What are you doing?"

"What are _you_ doing?" Freyja asked.

"I was fixing my father's fishing nets. Now answer my question." Alpha ordered. Freyja sighed in defeat, she couldn't hide anything from him could she?

"I was just gonna check something. I thought I saw a boat near one of the abandoned islands to the south, I'll be quick." Freyja said.

"I…alright, just be careful." Alpha whispered. "I don't know what I'd do I you died."

Freyja was touched. "Thanks, I'll try not to die then." Alpha smiled blew some hair from his face.

"Just get going."

Freyja stepped into the boat and pushed away her fear of drowning. She picked up the oars and began to row.

She reached the shore of the island in only thirty minutes. She got out of the boat and decided to get as far away from the water as possible. She hated water.

A big boat was resting in the water by the beach. It had to be the biggest ship she had ever seen, on its flag was a yellow dragon with what looked like a barbed scorpion tail. It didn't belong to any tribe she knew of. Maybe it belonged to someone from outside the archipelago?

Freyja poked her bag to wake Blade. He yawned and rubbed his eyes with his claws.

"Do you smell anything?" Freyja whispered. Blade sniffed the air and leaped out of the bag, landing on the sand.

"Smoke," He said. He padded around, sniffing the grass and heather. "and humans, lots of them."

Freyja scanned the forest. She could see a faint glow in the woods. The campfire.

"Get back in my bag Blade." Freyja ordered. She opened the flap to her bag and Blade buried himself under the blanket inside. She stepped lightly through the woods and saw the campsite.

About five or six vikings were at the fire. They were setting up what looked like bedding around the fire.

"Does yours have to be so close to me? I don't want to smell you all night." A young woman with pale blonde, almost white hair, complained to the man next to her. The man rolled his eyes. He had golden hair and blue eyes. He sported what looked like the beginnings of a beard on his face.

"If you don't like it Snowdrop, then go sleep on the boat with the others." The blonde man said. The girl, Snowdrop, scowled.

"Thora chose me to scout the island, I'm not going to disappoint her." Snowdrop said defiantly. A young man with red hair and a scar over his upper lip threw his shoe at them.

"Would you two shut up? I'm trying to sleep here!" he hissed. He rolled over and covered his head with a fur jacket. A woman with dark braided hair and long legs who was tending to the fire, looked in Freyja's direction. Freyja crouched down quickly behind a rock to avoid being seen.

"Where did Thora go again?" She asked.

The blonde guy rolled his eyes. "She went to get more supplies from the ship with Fern and Adda. If you had been paying attention _Drew_ , you would know that.

Freyja heard a twig snap behind her, she looked up to see a big woman with brown hair and blue war paint looking down at her. Before she could make a sound the woman picked her up and clasped her hand over Freyja's mouth. Freyja felt something hard hit her head and her vision faded into black.


End file.
